If “Heartland” at the Smart Museum were only another tired attempt to define “Midwestern-ness,” it would have failed before it began. Exhibitions that fall into this trap of showing “Midwestern-ness,” inevitably end up in condescending generalizations, or in forced comparisons, made to prove that “Midwesterners have culture too” which is equally condescending. Fortunately, “Heartland” is not such an exhibition. “Heartland,” is an exhibition that, for once, takes Midwestern art produc... [more]